NATIONAL 

DEMOCRATIC 
PLATFORM 


PROGRESS  INJVERY  PLANK 

ADOPTED   BY  THE 

DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 

AT 

BALTIMORE,  JULY  2,  1912 


For   President 

WooDROW  Wilson 


of  New  Jersey 


For  Vice-President 

Thomas  Marshall 


of  Indiana 


ISSUED  BY 

The   Democratic   National   Committee 

200  FIFTH  AVENUE.  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


NATIONAL  DEMOCRATIC  PLATFORM 


The    following    is    the    platform    adopted    by    the     Democratic 
National  Convention. 

We,  the  representatives  of  the  Democratic  party  of  the  United  States,  in 
National  Convention  assembled,  reafifirm  our  devotion  to  the  principles  of  Demo- 
cratic government  formulated  by  Thomas  Jefferson  and  enforced  by  a  long  and 
illustrious  line  of  Democratic  Presidents. 

We  declare  it  to  be  a  fundamental  principle  of  the  Democratic  party  that  the 
Federal  Government  under  the  Constitution  has  no  right  or  power  to  impose  or 
collect  tariff  duties,  except  for  the  purpose  of  revenue,  and  we  demand  that  the 
collection  of  such  taxes  shall  be  limited  to  the  necessities  of  government  honestly 
and  economically  administered. 

The  high  Republican  tariff  is  the  principal  cause  of  the  unequal  distribution  of 
wealth ;  it  is  a  system  of  taxation  which  makes  the  rich  richer  and  the  poor  poorer ; 
under  its  operations  the  American  farmer  and  laboring  man  are  the  chief  sufferers; 
it  raises  the  cost  of  the  necessaries  of  life  to  them  but  does  not  protect  their  product 
or  wages.  The  farmer  sells  largely  in  free  markets  and  buys  almost  entirely  in  the 
protected  markets.  In  the  most  highly  protected  industries,  such  as  cotton  and  wool, 
steel  and  iron,  the  wages  of  the  laborers  are  the  lowest  paid  in  any  of  our  industries. 
We  denounce  the  Republican  pretense  on  that  subject  and  assert  that  American 
wages  are  established  by  competitive  conditions  and  not  by  the  tariff. 

Downward  Revision  of  Duties. 

We  favor  the  immediate  downward  revision  of  the  existing  high  and  in  many 
cases  prohibitive  tariff  duties,  insisting  that  material  reductions  be  speedily  made 
upon  the  necessaries  of  life.  Articles  entering  into  competition  with  trust-controlled 
products  and  articles  of  American  manufacture  which  are  sold  abroad  more  cheaply 
than  at  home  should  be  put  upon  the  free  list. 

We  recognize  that  our  system  of  tariff  taxation  is  intimately  connected  with  the 
business  of  the  country  and  we  favor  the  ultimate  attainment  of  the  principles  we 
advocate  by  legislation  that  will  not  injure  or  destroy  legitimate  industry. 

We  denounce  the  action  of  President  Taft  in  vetoing  the  bills  to  reduce  the 
tariff  in  the  cotton,  woolen,  metals  and  chemical  schedules  and  the  Farmers'  Free 
List  bill  all  of  which  were  designed  to  give  immediate  relief  to  the  masses  from  the 
exactions  of  the  trusts. 

The  Republican  party,  while  promising  tariff  revision,  has  shown  by  its  tariff 

legislation  that  such  revision  is  not  to  be  in  the  people's  interest ;  and  having  been 

faithless  to  its  pledges  of  igo8,  it  should  no  longer  enjoy  the  confidence  of   the 

nation.    We  appeal  to  the  American  people  to  support  us  in  our  demand  for  a  tariff 

for  revenue  only.  tt-    u    /~>      ^      r  t  •    • 

^  High  Cost  of  Livmg. 

The  hight  cost  of  living  is  a  serious  problem  in  every  American  home.  The 
Republican  party,  in  its  platform,  attempts  to  escape  from  responsibility  for  present 
conditions  by  denying  that  they  are  due  to  a  protective  tariff.  We  take  issue  with 
them  on  this  subject  and  charge  that  excessive  prices  result  in  a  large  measure  from 
the  high  tariff  laws  enacted  and  maintained  by  the  Republican  party  and  from 
trusts  and  commercial  conspiracies  fostered  and  encouraged  by  such  law's,  and  we 
assert  that  no  substantial  relief  can  be  secured  for  the  people  until  import  duties 
on  the  necessaries  of  life  are  materially  reduced  and  these  criminal  conspiracies 

*''"°'^^"  "P-  Anti-Trust  Law. 

A  private  monopoly  is  indefensible  and  intolerable.  We  therefore  f.ivor  the 
vigorous  enforcement  of  the  criminal  as  well  as  the  civil  law  against  trusts  and 
trust  officials,  and  demand  the  enactment  of  such  additional  legislation  as  may  be 
necessary  to  make  it  impossible  for  a  private  monopoly  to  exist  in  the  United  States. 

We  favor  the  declaration  by  law  of  the  conditions  upon  which  corporations 
shall  be  permitted  to  engage  in  interstate  trade,  including,  among  others,  the  pre- 
vention of  holding  companies,  of  interlocking  directors,  of  stock  watering,  of  dis- 
crimination in  price,  and  the  control  by  any  one  corporation  of  so  large  a  proportion 
of  any  industry  as  to  make  it  a  menace  to  competitive  conditions. 

We  condemn  the  action  of  the  Republican  Administration  in  compromising 
with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  and  the  Tobacco  Trust,  and  its  failure  to  in.'oke 


the  criminal  provisions  of  the  Anti-Trust  law  against  the  officers  of  those  corpora- 
tions after  the  court  had  declared  that  from  the  undisputed  facts  in  the  record 
they  had  violated  the  criminal  provisions  of  the  law. 

We  regret  that  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  law  has  received  a  judicial  construction 
depriving  it  of  much  of  its  efficacy,  and  we  favor  the  enactment  of  legislation  which 
will  restore  to  the  statute  the  strength  of  which  it  has  been  deprived  by  such 
interpretation.  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^   States. 

We  believe  in  the  preservation  and  maintenance  in  their  full  strength  and 
integrity  of  the  three  co-ordinate  branches  of  the  Federal  Government — the  Exec- 
utive, the  Legislative  and  the  Judicial — each  keeping  within  its  own  bounds,  and 
not  encroaching  upon  the  just  powers  of  either  of  the  others. 

Believing  that  the  most  efficient  results  under  our  system  of  government  are 
to  be  attained  by  the  full  exercise  by  the  States  of  their  reserved  sovereign  powers, 
we  denounce  as  usurpation  the  efforts  of  our  opponents  to  deprive  the  Statesof  any 
of  the  rights  reserved  to  them,  and  to  enlarge  and  magnify  by  indirection  the 
powers  of  the  Federal  Government. 

We  insist  upon  the  full  exercise  of  all  the  powers  of  the  Government,  both 
State  and  National,  to  protect  the  people  from  injustice  at  the  handsof  those_  who 
seek  to  make  the  Government  a  private  asset  in  business.  There  is  no  twihght 
zone  between  the  Nation  and  the  State  in  which  exploiting  interests  can  take  refuge 
from  both.  It  is  as  necessary  that  the  Federal  Government  shall  exercise  the 
powers  reserved  to  them,  but  we  insist  that  Federal  remedies  for  the  regulation  of 
interstate  commerce  and  for  the  prevention  of  private  monopoly  shall  be  added  to 
and  not  substituted  for  State  remedies. 

Income  Tax  and  Popular  Election  of  Senators. 

We  congratulate  the  country  upon  the  triumph  of  two  important  reforms  de- 
manded in  the  last  national  platform,  namely,  the  amendment  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution authorizing  an  income  tax  and  the  amendment  providing  for  the  popular 
election  of  Senators,  and  we  call  upon  the  people  of  all  the  States  to  rally  to  the 
support  of  the  pending  propositions  and  secure  their  ratification. 

We  note  with  gratification  the  unanimous  sentiment  in  favor  of  publicity, 
before  the  election,  of  campaign  contributions,  a  measure  demanded  in  our  national 
platform  of  1908,  and  at  that  time  opposed  by  the  Republican  party,  and  we  com- 
mend the  Democratic  House  of  Representatives  for  extending  the  doctrine_  of 
publicity  to  recommendations,  verbal  and  written,  upon  which  Presidential  appoint- 
ments are  made,  to  the  ownership  and  control  of  newspapers  and  to  the  expendi- 
tures made  by  and  in  behalf  of  those  who  aspire  to  Presidential  nominations,  and 
we  point  for  additional  justification  for  this  legislation  to  the_  enormous  expendi- 
tures of  money  in  behalf  of  the  President  and  his  predecessor  in  the  recent  contest 
for  the  Republican  nomination  for  President. 

Presidential  Primaries. 

The  movement  toward  more  popular  government  should  be  promoted  through 
legislation  in  each  State  which  will  permit  the  expression  of  the  preference  of  the 
electors  for  national  candidates  at  Presidential  primaries. 

We  direct  that  the  National  Committee  incorporate  in  the  call  for  the  next 
nominating  convention  a  requirement  that  all  expressions  of  preference  for  Presi- 
dential candidates  shall  be  given  and  the  selection  of  delegates  and  alternates  be 
made  through  a  primary  election  conducted  by  the  party  organization  in  each  State 
where  such  expression  and  election  are  not  provided  for  by  State  law.  Committee- 
men who  are  hereafter  to  constitute  the  membership  of  the  Democratic  National 
Committee  and  whose  election  is  not  provided  for  by  law  shall  be  chosen  in  each 
State  at  such  primary  elections,  and  the  service  and  authority  of  committeemen, 
however  chosen,  shall  begin  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  their  credentials 
respectively.  Campaign  Contributions. 

We  pledge  the  Democratic  party  to  the  enactment  of  a  law  prohibiting  any 
corporation  from  contributing  to  a  campaign  fund  and  any  individual  from  con- 
tributing any  amount  above  a  reasonable  maximum. 

Term  of  President, 

We  favor  a  single  Presidential  term,  and  to  that  end  urge  the  adoption  of  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  making  the  President  of  the  United  States  ineligible 
for  reelection,  and  we  pledge  the  candidate  of  this  convention  to  this  principle. 


Democratic  Congress. 

At  this  time,  when  the  Republican  party,  after  a  generation  of  unlimited  power 
in  its  control  of  the  Federal  Government,  is  rent  into  factions,  it  is  opportune  to 
point  to  the  record  of  accomplishment  of  the  Democratic  House  of  Representatives 
in  the  Sixtj^-Second  Congress.  We  indorse  its  action  and  we  challenge  comparison 
of  its  record  with  that  of  any  Congress  which  has  been  controlled  by  our  opponents. 

We  call  the  attention  of  the  patriotic  citizens  of  our  country  to  its  record  of 
efficiency,   economy   and   constructive   legislation. 

It  has,  among  other  achievements,  revised  the  rules  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives so  as  to  give  to  the  representatives  of  the  American  people  freedom 
of  speech  and  of  action  in  advocating,  proposing  and  perfecting  remedial  legislation. 

It  has  passed  bills  for  the  relief  of  the  people  and  the  development  of  our 
country;  it  has  endeavored  to  revise  the  tariff  taxes  downward  in  the  interest  of 
the  consuming  masses,  and  thus  reduce  the  high  cost  of  living. 

It  has  proposed  an  amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution,  providing  for  the 
election  of  United  States  Senators  by  the  direct  vote  of  the  people. 

It  has  secured  the  admission  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  as  two  sovereign 
States. 

It  has  required  the  publicity  of  campaign  expenses  both  before  and  after 
election  and  fixed  a  limit  upon  the  election  expenses  of  United  States  Senators  and 
Representatives. 

It  has  also  passed  a  bill  to  prevent  the  abuse  of  the  writ  of  injunction. 

It  has  passed  a  law  establishing  an  eight-hour  day  for  workmen  on  all  national 
public  Avork. 

It  has  passed  a  resolution  which  forced  the  President  to  take  immediate  steps 
to  abrogate  the  Russian  treaty. 

And  it  has  passed  the  great  supply  bills  which  lessen  waste  and  extravagance 
and  which  reduce  the  annual  expenses  of  the  Government  by  many  millions  of 
dollars. 

We  approve  the  measure  reported  by  the  Democratic  leaders  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  for  the  creation  of  a  Council  of  National  Defense  which  will 
determine  a  definite  naval  programme  with  a  view  to  increased  efficiency  and 
economy.  The  party  that  proclaimed  and  has  always  enforced  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  and  was  sponsor  for  the  new  navy  will  continue  faithfully  to  observe 
the  Constitutional  requirements  to  provide  and  maintain  an  adequate  and  well 
proportioned  navy  sufficient  to  defend  American  policies,  protect  our  citizens  and 
uphold  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  nation. 

Republican  Extravagance.    . 

We  denounce  the  profligate  waste  of  the  money  wrung  from  the  people  by 
oppressive  taxation  through  the  lavish  appropriations  of  recent  Republican  Con- 
gresses, which  have  kept  taxes  high  and  reduced  the  purchasing  power  of  the 
people's  toil.  We  demand  a  return  to  that  simplicity  and  economy  which  befits 
a  democratic  government  and  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  useless  offices,  the 
salaries   of   v/hich   drain  the  substance  of  the  people. 

Railroads,   Express  Companies,  Telegraph  and  Telephone  Lines. 

We  favor  the  efficient  supervision  and  rate  regulation  of  railroads,  express 
companies,  telegraph  and  telephone  lines  engaged  in  interstate  commerce.  To  this 
end  we  recommend  the  valuation  of  railroads,  express  companies,  telegraph  and 
telephone  lines  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  such  valuation  to  take 
into  consideration  the  physical  value  of  the  property,  the  original  cost,  the  cost  of 
reproduction,  and  any  element  of  value  that  will  render  the  valuation  fair  and  just. 

We  favor  such  legislation  as  will  effectually  prohibit  the  railroads,  express, 
telegraph  and  telephone  companies  from  engaging  in  business  which  brings  them 
into  competition  with  their  shippers  or  patrons;  also  legislation  preventing  the 
overissue  of  stocks  and  bonds  by  interstate  railroads,  express  companies,  telegraph 
and  telephone  lines,  and  legislation  which  will  assure  such  reduction  in  trans- 
portation rates  as  conditions  will  permit,  care  being  taken  to  avoid  reduction  that 
would  compel  a  reduction  of  wages,  prevent  adequate  service,  or  do  injustice  to 
legitimate  investments. 

Banking  Legislation. 

We  oppose  the  so-called  Aldrich  bill  or  the  establishment  of  a  central  bank, 
and  we  believe  the  people  of  the  country  will  be  largely  freed  from  panics  and  con- 
sequent unemployment  and  business  depression  by  such  a  systematic  revision  of 


our  banking  laws  as  will  render  temporary  relief  in  localities  where  such  relief  is 
needed,  with  protection  from  control  or  dominion  by  what  is  known  as  the 
Money-Trust. 

Banks  exist  for  the  accomodation  of  the  public  and  not  for  the  control  of 
business.  All  legislation  on  the  subject  of  banking  and  currency  should  have  for 
its  purpose  the  securing  of  these  accomodations  on  terms  of  absolute  security  to 
the  public  and  of  complete  protection  from  the  misuse  of  the  power  that  wealth 
gives  to  those  who  possess  it. 

We  condemn  the  present  methods  of  depositing  Government  funds  in  a  few 
favored  banks,  largely  situated  in  or  controlled  by  Wall  Street,  in  return  for 
political  favors,  and  we  pledge  our  party  to  provide  by  law  for  their  deposit  by 
competitive  bidding  in  the  banking  institutions  of  the  country.  National  and  State, 
without  discrimination  as  to  locality,  upon  approved  securities  and  subject  to  the 
call  of  the  Government. 

Rural  Credits. 

Of  equal  importance  with  the  question  of  currency  reform  is  the  question  of 
rural  credits  or  agricultural  finance.  Therefore  we  recommend  that  an  investigation 
of  agricultural  credit  societies  in  foreign  countries  be  made,  so  that  it  may  be 
ascertained  whether  a  system  of  rural  credits  may  be  devised  suitable  to  conditions 
in  the  United  States ;  and  we  also  favor  legislation  permitting  national  banks  to 
loan  a  reasonable  proportion  of  their  funds  on  real  estate  security. 

We  recognize  the  value  of  vocational  education  and  urge  Federal  appropria- 
tions for  such  training  and  extension  teaching  in  agriculture  in  cooperation  with  the 
several  States. 

Waterways. 

We  renew  the  declaration  in  our  last  platform  relating  to  the  conservation  of 
our  natural  resources  and  the  development  of  our  waterways.  The  present 
devastation  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley  accentuates  the  movement  for  the 
regulation  of  river  flow  by  additional  bank  and  levee  protection  below,  and  the 
diversion,  storage  and  control  of  the  flood  waters  above,  and  their  utilization  for 
beneficial  purposes  in  the  reclamation  of  arid  and  swamp  lands  and  the  develop- 
ment of  water  power,  instead  of  permitting  the  floods  to  continue,  as  heretofare, 
agents  of  destruction. 

We  hold  that  the  control  of  the  Mississippi  River  is  a  national  problem.  The 
preservation  of  the  depth  of  its  water  for  the  purpose  of  navigation,  the  building 
of  levees  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  its  channel  and  the  prevention  of  the  overflow 
of  the  land  and  its  consequent  devastation,  resulting  in  the  interruption  of  interstate 
commerce,  the  disorganization  of  the  mail  service  and  the  enormous  loss  of  life 
and  property,  impose  an  obligation  which  alone  can  be  discharged  by  the  general 
government. 

To  maintain  an  adequate  depth  of  water  the  entire  year  and  thereby  encourage 
water  transportation,  is  a  consummation  worthy  of  legislative  attention  and  presents 
an  issue  national  in  its  character.  It  calls  for  prompt  action  on  the  part  o^  Congress, 
and  the  Democratic  party  pledges  itself  to  the  enactment  of  legislation  leading  to 
that  end. 

We  favor  the  cooperation  of  the  United  States  and  the  respective  States  in 
plans  for  the  comprehensive  treatment  of  all  waterways  with  a  view  of  coordinat- 
ing plans  for  channel  improvement  with  plans  of  drainage  of  swamp  and  overflowed 
lands,  and  to  this  end  we  favor  the  appropriation  by  the  Federal  Government  of 
sufficient  funds  to  make  surveys  of  such  lands,  to  develop  plans  for  draining  of  the 
same  and  to  supervise  the  work  of  construction. 

We  favor  the  adoption  of  a  liberal  and  comprehensive  plan  for  the  development 
and  improvement  of  our  inland  waterways,  with  economy  and  efficiency,  so  as  to 
permit  their  navigation  by  vessels  of  standard  draught. 

Post  Roads. 

We  favor  national  aid  to  State  and  local  authorities  in  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  post  roads. 

Rights  of  Labor. 

We  repeat  our  declarations  of  the  platform  of  1908  as  follows : 

"The  courts  of  justice  are  the  bulwarks  of  our  liberties  and  we  yield  to  none 

in  our  purpose  to  maintain  their  dignity.     Our  party  has  given  to  the  bench  a 

long  line  of  distinguished  justices  who  have  added  to  the  respect  and  confidence 

in  which  this  department  must  be  jealously  maintained.    We  resent  the  aMe-mpt  of 

5 


the  Republican  party  to  raise  a  false  issue  respecting  the  judiciary.  It  is  an  unjust 
reflection  upon  a  great  body  of  our  citizens  to  assume  that  they  lack  respect  for  the 
courts. 

"It  is  the  function  of  the  courts  to  interpret  the  laws  which  the  people  enact, 
and  if  the  laws  appear  to  work  economic,  social  or  political  injustice,  it  is  our 
duty  to  change  them.  The  only  basis  upon  which  the  integrity  of  our  courts  can 
stand  is  that  of  unswerving  justice  and  protection  of  life,  personal  liberty  and 
property.  As  judicial  processes  may  be  abused,  we  should  guard  them  against 
abuse. 

"Experience  has  proven  the  necessity  of  a  moditication  of  the  present  law 
relating  to  injunction,  and  w^e  reiterate  the  pledges  of  our  platforms  of  1896  and 
1904  in  favor  of  a  measure  which  passed  the  United  States  Senate  in  1896,  relating 
to  contempt  in  Federal  courts  and  providing  for  trial  by  jury  in  cases  of  indirect 
contempt. 

"Questions  of  judicial  practice  have  arisen,  especially  in  connection  with 
industrial  disputes.  We  believe  that  the  parties  to  all  judicial  proceedings  should 
be  treated  with  rigid  impartiality,  and  that  injunctions  should  not  be  issued  in 
any  case  in  which  an  injunction  would  not  issue  if  no  industrial  dispute  were 
involved. 

"The  expanding  organization  of  industry  makes  it  essential  that  there  should 
be  no  abridgment  of  the  right  of  the  wage-earners  and  producers  to  organize  for 
the  protection  of  wages  and  the  improvement  of  labor  conditions  to  the  end  that 
such  labor  organizations  and  their  members  should  not  be  regarded  as  illegal 
combinations  in  restraint  of  trade. 

"We  pledge  the  Democratic  party  to  the  enactment  of  a  law  creating  a 
Department  of  Labor  represented  separately  in  the  President's  Cabinet,  in  which 
department  shall  be  included  the  subject  of  mines  and  mining."^ 

We  pledge  the  Democratic  party,  so  far  as  the  Federal  jurisdiction  extends,  to 
an  employee's  compensation  law  providing  adequate  indemnity  for  injury  to  body  or 
loss  of  life. 

Conservation. 

We  believe  in  the  conservation  and  the  development,  for  the  use  of  all  the 
people,  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  country.  Our  forests,  our  sources  of  water 
supply,  our  arable  and  our  mineral  lands,  our  navigable  streams  and  all  the  other 
material  resources  with  which  our  country  has  been  so  lavishly  endowed,  consti- 
tute the  foundation  of  our  national  wealth.  Such  additional  legislation  as  may 
be  necessary  to  prevent  their  being  wasted  or  absorbed  by  special  or  privileged 
interests  should  be  enacted  and  the  policy  of  their  conservation  should  be  rigidly 
adhered  to. 

The  public  domain  should  be  administered  and  disposed  of  with  due  regard 
to  the  general  welfare.  Reservations  should  be  limited  to  the  purposes  which  they 
purport  to  serve  and  not  extended  to  include  land  wholly  unsuited  therefor.  The 
unnecessary  withdrawal  from  sale  and  settlement  of  enormous  tracts  of  public  land, 
upon  which  tree  growth  never  existed  and  cannot  be  promoted,  tends  only  to  retard 
development,  create  discontent  and  bring  reproach  upon  the  policy  of  conservation. 

The  publio  land  laws  should  be  administered  in  a  spirit  of  the  broadest  liberality 
toward  the  settler  exhibiting  a  bona-fide  purpose  to  comply  therewith,  to  the  end 
that  the  invitation  of  this  Government  to  the  landless  should  be  as  attractive  as 
possible ;  and  the  plain  provisions  of  the  Forest  Reserve  act.  permitting  homestead 
entries  to  be  made  within  the  national  forests,  should  not  be  nullified  by  admini- 
strative regulations  which  amount  to  a  withdrawal  of  great  areas  of  the  same  from 
settlement. 

Immediate  action  should  be  taken  by  Congresss  to  make  available  the  vast  and 
valuable  coal  deposits  of  Alaska  under  conditions  that  will  be  a  perfect  guaranty 
against  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  monopolizing  corporations,  associations  or 
interests. 

Mines  and  Miners. 

We  rejoice  in  the  inheritance  of  mineral  resources  imequalled  in  extent, 
variety  or  value,  and  in  the  development  of  a  mining  industry  unequalled  in  its 
magnitude  and  importance.  We  honor  the  men  who,  in  their  hazardous  toil 
underground,  daily  risk  their  lives  in  extracting  and  preparing  for  our  use  the 
products  of  the  mine,  so  essential  to  the  industries,  the  commerce  and  the  comfort 
of  the  people  of  this  country.  And  we  pledge  ourselves  to  the  extension  of  the 
work  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  in  every  way  appropriate  for  national  legislation, 
with  a  view  of  safeguarding  the  lives  of  the  miners,  lessening  the  waste  of  essen- 

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tial  resources  and  promoting  the  economic  development  of  mining,  which,  along  with 
agriculture,  must  in  the  future,  even  more  than  in  the  past,  serve  as  the  very 
foundation  of  our  national  prosperity  and  welfare  and  our  international  commerce. 

Agriculture. 

We  believe  in  encouraging  the  development  of  a  modern  system  of  agricul- 
ture and  a  systematic  effort  to  improve  the  conditions  of  trade  in  farm  products 
so  as  to  benefit  both  the  consumers  and  producers.  And  as  an  efficient  means  to 
this  end  we  favor  the  enactment  by  Congress  of  legislation  that  will  suppress  the 
pernicious  practice  of  gambling  in  agricultural  products  by  organized  exchanges 
or  others. 

Merchant  Marine. 

We  believe  in  fostering,  by  constitutional  regulation  of  commerce,  the  growth 
of  a  merchant  marine  which  shall  develop  and  strengthen  the  commercial  ties 
which  bind  us  to  our  sister  republics  of  the  South,  but  without  imposing  additional 
burdens  upon  the  people  and  without  bounties  or  subsidies  from  the  public  treasury. 

_We  urge  upon  Congress  the  speedy  enactment  of  laws  for  the  greater  security 
of  life  and  property  at  sea.  and  we  favor  the  repeal  of  all  laws,  and  the  abrogation 
of  so  much  of  our  treaties  with  other  nations,  as  provide  for  the  arrest  and 
imprisonment  of  seamen  charged  with  desertion,  or  with  violation  of  their  contract 
of  service. 

Such  laws  and  treaties  are  un-American  and  violate  the  spirit,  if  not  the  letter, 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

We  favor  the  exemption  from  tolls  of  American  ships  engaged  in  coastwise 
trade  passing  through  the  Panama  canal. 

We  also  favor  legislation  forbidding  the  use  of  the  Panama  canal  by  ships 
owned  or  controlled  by  railroad  carriers  engaged  in  transportation  competitive  with 
the  canal.  ^  _  .   ^ 

Pure  Food  and  Public  Health. 

We  reaffirm  our  previous  declarations  advocating  the  union  and  strengthening 
of  the  various  governmental  agencies  relating  to  pure  foods,  quarantine,  vital 
statistics  and  human  health.  Thus  united  and  administered  without  partially  to 
or  discrimination  against  any  school  of  medicine  or  system  of  healing,  they  would 
constitute  a  single  health  service,  not  subordinated  to  any  commercial  or  financial 
interests,  but  devoted  exclusively  to  the  conservation  of  human  life  and  efficiency. 
Moreover,  this  health  service  should  cooperate  with  the  health  agencies  of  our 
various  States  and  cities,  without  interference  with  their  prerogatives  or  with 
the  freedom  of  individuals  to  employ  such  medical  or  hygienic  aid  as  they  may 

Civil  Service  Law. 

The  law  pertaining  to  the  civil  service  should  be  honestly  and  rigidly  en- 
forced, to  the  end  that  merit  and  ability  should  be  the  standard  of  appointment 
and  promotion  rather  than  service  rendered  to  a  political  party ;  and  we  favor 
a  reorganization  of  the  civil  service,  with  adequate  compensation,  commensurate 
with  the  class  of  work  performed,  for  all  officers  and  employees;  we  also  favor 
the  extension  to  all  classes  of  civil  service  employees  of  the  benefits  of  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Employers'  Liability  law ;  we  also  recognize  the  right  of  direct 
petition  to  Congress  by  employees  for  the  redress  of  grievances. 

Law  Reform. 

We  recognize  the  urgent  need  of  reform  in  the  administration  of  civil  and 
criminal  law  in  the  United  States,  and  we  recommend  the  enactment  of  such 
legislation  and  the  promotion  of  such  measures  as  will  rid  the  present  legal  system 
of  the  delays,  expense  and  uncertainties  incident  to  the  system  as  now  administered. 

The  Philippines. 

We  reaffirm  the  position  thrice  announced  by  the  Democracy  in  National 
Convention  assembled  against  a  policy  of  imperialism  and  colonial  exploitation 
in  the  Philippines,  or  elsewhere.  We  condemn  the  experiment  in  imperialism 
as  an  inexcusable  blunder  which  has  involved  us  in  enormous  expense,  brought 
us  weakness  instead  of  strength  and  laid  our  nation  open  to  the  charge  of  aban- 
donment of  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  self-government.  We  favor  an  imme- 
diate declaration  of  the  nation's  purpose  to  recognize  the  independence  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  as  soon  as  a  stable  government  can  be  established,  such  inde- 
pendence to  be  guaranteed  by  us  until  the  neutralization  of  the  Islands  can  be 


/  «':<♦«■* 


/ 


aiiSfi  im' 


secured  by  treaty  with  other  powers.  In  recognizing  the  independence  of  the 
Philippines,  our  Government  should  retain  such  land  as  may  be  necessary  for 
coaling  stations  and  naval  bases. 

Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

We  welcome  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  to  the  sisterhood  of  States  and  heartily 
congratulate  them  upon  their  auspicious  beginning  of  great  and  glorious  careers. 

Alaska. 

We  demand  for  the  people  of  Alaska  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  a  territorial  form  of  government  and  we  believe  that  the  officials 
appointed  to  administer  the  government  of  all  our  Territories  and  the  District 
of  Columbia  should  be  qualified  by  previous  bona-fide  residence. 

The  Russian  Treaty. 

We  commend  the  patriotism  of  the  Democratic  members  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  which  compelled  the  termination  of  the  Russian  treaty 
of  1832,  and  we  pledge  ourselves  anew  to  preserve  the  sacred  rights  of  American 
citizenship  at  home  and  abroad.  No  treaty  should  receive  the  sanction  of  our 
Government  which  does  not  recognize  that  equality  of  all  of  our  citizens,  irre- 
spective of  race  or  creed,  and  which  does  not  expressly  guarantee  the  fundamental 
right  of  expatriation. 

The  constitutional  rights  of  American  citizens  should  protect  them  on  our 
borders  and  go  with  them  throughout  the  world,  and  every  American  citizen 
residing  or  having  property  in  any  foreign  country  is  entitled  to  and  must  be 
giv^  the  full  protection  of  the  United  States  Government,  both  for  himself  and 
his  property. 

Parcels  Post  and  Rural  Delivery. 

We  favor  the  establishment  of  a  parcel  post  or  postal  express  and  also  the 
extension  of  the  rural  delivery   system  as   rapidly  as  practicable. 

Panama  Canal  Exposition. 

We  hereby  express  our  deep  interest  in  the  great  Panama  Canal  Exposition 
to  be  held  in  San  Francisco  in  1915,  and  favor  such  encouragement  as  can  be 
properly  given. 

Protection  of  National  Uniform. 

We  commend  to  the  several  States  the  adoption  of  a  law  making  it  an  ofifense 
for  the  proprietors  of  places  of  public  amusement  and  entertainment  to  discrimi- 
nate against  the  uniform  of  the  United  States,  similar  to  the  law  passed  by 
Congress  applicable  to  the  District  of  Columbia  and  the  Territories,  in  191 1. 

Pensions. 

We  renew  the  declaration  of  our  last  platform  relating  to  a  generous  pension 
policy. 

Rule  of  the  People. 

We  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Democratic  party  demand  for  a  return 
to  the  rule  of  the  people,  expressed  in  the  National  Platform  four  years  ago, 
has  now  become  the  accepted  doctrine  of  a  large  majority  of  the  electors.  We 
again  remind  the  country  that  only  by  a  larger  exercise  of  the  reserved  power  of 
the  people  can  they  protect  themselves  from  the  misuse  of  delegated  power  and 
the  usurpation  of  governmental  instrumentalities  by  special  interests.  For  this 
reason,  the  National  Convention  insisted  on  the  overthrow  of  Cannonism  and 
the  inauguration  of  a  system  by  which  United  States  Senators  could  be  elected 
by  direct  vote. 

The  Democratic  party  offers  itself  to  the  country  as  an  agency  through  which 
the  complete  overthrow  and  extirpation  of  corruption,  fraud  and  machine  rule 
in  American  politics  can  be  effect-ed. 

Conclusion. 

Our  platform  is  one  of  principles  which  we  believe  to  be  essential  to  our 
national  welfare.  Our  pledges  are  made  to  be  kept  when  in  office  as  we\\  as 
relied  upon  during  the  campaign,  and  we  invite  the  cooperation  of  all  citizens, 
regardless  of  party,  who  believe  in  maintaining  unimpaired  the  institutions  and 
traditions  of  our  country. 

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